Car-replacer



-(No Model.)

h-B. ALEXANDER.

GAR REPLAOER.

Patented Dec. 8,18%.

g l l Z 2 i To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, ROBERT E. ALEXANDER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Foriest City, in the county of Susquehanna and gState of Pennsylvania, have invented cer- Etain new and useful Improvements in Oar-Re- :fplacers; and I do declare the following to be afull, clear, and exact description of the inven- ;tion, such as will enable others skilled in the @art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanyiing drawings, and to the figures of reference i marked thereon, which form a part of this f-specification.

i The object of my invention is to devise a @car-replacer which will be less liable to turn 5'over or jump out of place when struck by the {car-wheels and which will lower the wheels radually upon the rail without allowing them slide down in a lateral direction and land ith a sudden jar. Such sudden descent often injures the wheels or the axles or damages fthe car. This action of the wheels is particui-larly undesirable when the top of the rail lies 3 flush with the ground or ballast, for then the distance from the top of the replacer to the top of the rail would be so great as to increase {the jar and aggravate the consequences. To }obviate these difliculties, I provide a replacer lhaving the general contour of the segment of fa circle with two peculiarly-formed grooves which extend longitudinally inward from base ?to summit, intersecting each other at the lat- ;ter point, and continuing pass over and down I-to the top of the rail, so that when the wheel 'reaches the summit it will not slide or drop EOfE. laterally, but will be confined and made to pass over the summit and be continued on down until safely deposited upon the rail Without any jar whatever. The replacer is also given a novel outline and is provided with a peculiar kind of gripping-teeth on the bottom edges and shaped to insure a better hold on the ties, all of which will be more fully described hereinafter and pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 .denotes a top view of my device as applied to an ordinary railroad having the common T- rails, a pair of wheels being on the point of striking the replacers Figs. 2 and 3, perspec- ;tive views showing the replacers in position rails 3.

PATENT OFFICE.

ROBERT E. ALEXANDER, or FOREST CITY, PENNSYLVANIA.

CAR-REPLACER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 572,669, dated December 8, 1896 i Application filed February 1'7, 1896. Serial No. 579,553. (No model.)

and the location of the wheels thereon when they have reached the highest point; Fig. 4, a side elevation of one member of the replacers, in which dotted lines denote the rail and wheels. Arrows indicate the direction and course pursued in traversing the replacer. Fig. is a top View of one member of the replacer; Fig. 6, a transverse section through X X of Fig. 3.

The numerals 1 and 2 represent a pair of my replacers oppositely disposed alongside Both these members are alike in general outline, each being hollow and curved in the shape of a bow. The central portion or apex rises above the rail and is adapted to lie close to the latter with its side 7 sloping to the lower edge, so as to extend under the tread 4: and] overlap the base 5 and take in the head 6 of a spike and prevent the member from slipping away. This curving of the replacer is to project its extremities outward from'the rail to prevent the replacer from overturning laterally when struck by the heavy weight of the wheel. The upper surface slopes upward from the opposite extremities 8 and 9 of the replacer to a point midway thereof, which point will, for convenience, be termed the apex 10. From this apex the lateral sides slope downwardly and outward like a cone. of each member and sloping upward to the apex are two wide longitudinal concaved grooves 11 and 12, which converge toward and intersect at the apex.

In the upper surface The depth and width of the grooves are suchas will not allow the flange of the car-wheel to pinch or bind therein when turned across or out of coincidence with the groove. Each of these grooves is continued to form downward extensions 11 and 12, which guide the wheel over the apex and on down to the rail, as shown by arrows, instead of allowing it to slide off laterally. Thus each member is provided with two longitudinal grooves crossing at the summit and terminating a short distance beyond. The only difference between the two replacers is that in the right-hand member 2 the grooves are shallower and at the apex there is no upward-projecting lip, such as 14, on the other member, but a plane horizontal surface 14: is made instead. This difference is provided so that the lateral draft upon the wheels caused bythe more accentuated form of the grooves of the left-hand member will allow the right-hand wheel 15 of the'truck to slip a little laterally. The. extremities of each member are squared and provided with sharp-edged integral calks 16, made long in order to sink into the ties with the grain when pressed 'upon by the derailed wheel. Additional calks 17 are distributed along the edge in order to still further insure the member against slipping.

The operation of my device can be described briefly by stating that when the two replac-. ing members are set on the ties so that their rounded sides will fit snugly against the two rails, as seen in Fig. 2, and the car is moved toward the observer the left-hand wheel,

striking the end of the member 1, will, after forcing the calks down into the top of the tie on which it is placed,- enter the grooves with the treads of the wheels climbing the ridges 18 and the flange rolling and sliding upon either the right or left wall of the groove, as the case may be. WVhen the apexes' are reached, both wheels roll past the apex and 3 on down-in the extensions 11 and 12 andare deposited on the top of the railswithout the slightest jar or injury to the rolling-stock or track. 7

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In a car-replacer, a bow-shaped replacing member having an elevated central por tion 10, and provided with grooves extendin g longitudinally upward and crossing each other at the top of said elevated portion, and

thence extending downward, and a lip 14,10- cated opposite the intersection of the grooves whereby the wheel is prevented from slip- 'ping off laterally, substantially as described.

' In witness whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

ROBERT E. ALEXANDER. Witnesses:

M. F. BARRETT, J RUssELL J ONES. 

